


chasing ghost ships on the horizon

by Mothman_plays_the_drums



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, its at the very beginning, light-speed burn, merry christmas! except its march
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28379142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mothman_plays_the_drums/pseuds/Mothman_plays_the_drums
Summary: Hongjoong stays out at a beach town with his estranged father and finds comfort in the boy he thought replaced him.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	chasing ghost ships on the horizon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chikoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chikoo/gifts).



> this is a secret santa fic for @fightmehyuk on twitter. I hope you enjoy this, Mich, I had a lot of fun writing it!

It’s fine. Hongjoong’s father has basically replaced him after leaving his mother with him years ago, but it's fine. He should’ve expected this, and there are definitely worse places to have this epiphany than a dock facing the ocean, on a cloudy day, as Hongjoong realizes when he leans back on his elbows, feet dangling in the salty water, and eyes toward the sky.

The day is warm, despite the lingering storm clouds. It’s so different from New York air. Everywhere has just a little bit more moisture around here, and it's so  _ warm. _ Hongjoong suspected he’d be rather opposed to the climate, considering it’s early spring and it should never be this warm in March. However, Hongjoong finds it nice, even if he had to buy a bit of an updated wardrobe to get used to it. All of it on his father’s dollar, of course, as his mother had encouraged him. He finds his eyes closing, lulled almost to sleep by the subtle crash of the waves against the beach, and the seagulls flying above them.

Suddenly, he’s interrupted by approaching steps. He cracks his eyes open, just slightly, and peers back to look at the coming figure. It’s the boy from the pool, the boy Hongjoong’s father claims as his own above his biological son, and Hongjoong suppresses a roll of his eyes as he sits up. The boy comes up and sits down right next to him, following Hongjoong in letting his feet hang off the dock, eyes on the other man, rather than the sky, or the water below them. Hongjoong refuses to look back, but out of the corner of his eye, he sees the boy. He’s  _ smiling _ kindly at Hongjoong, and Hongjoong almost wants to return the favor. The boy is attractive, much more than Hongjoong thinks himself to be.  _ Maybe _ , he thinks,  _ that’s it. Maybe this boy is better than I’ll ever be. _

“What’s on that mind of yours?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because a pretty red haired boy saw me in his father’s pool, rolled his eyes, and came out here to sulk. It piqued my curiosity.”

Hongjoong’s face scrunches, slightly, at the recount of his own actions. It’s not the boy’s fault Joong’s father is a scumbag, and Hongjoong certainly isn’t being fair to him. He is, however, stranded, alone in a place he doesn’t know very well, and with many people he’s either never met or doesn’t remember, and he’s so, so scared. It’s a fight or flight reflex kicking in, his wariness of everyone in the town, especially the boy who replaced him. “I mean, I’m fine,” he explains, “It’s fine. It’s fine that my father  _ begged _ me to come out here for the summer, and then promptly introduced me to Park whatever-your-name-is, who’s “like a son,” to him. It’s fine that I’m out here, all alone, in a giant house that I don’t recognize with a constant reminder that  _ apparently _ , my mother and I weren’t good enough, and  _ it’s fine  _ that my father, who I was supposed to reconcile with, has talked to me a grand total of four times in the two weeks I’ve been here!” The way he’s sitting suddenly feels way too open, and he pulls his knees up to his chest, wrapping an arm around his legs and setting his chin atop his knee. 

“I’m so sorry, Hongjoong.” The boy’s voice is sincere, almost calming, and Hongjoong understands why his father took a liking to Mr. Park. 

Hongjoong smirks joylessly and huffs. He can see out of the corner of his eye how the boy beside him raises an eyebrow, and sighs, defeated. “Worst part is I can’t even pretend that you two are fit for each other. You’re… kind, and you’ve been accommodating to me, and it pisses me off  _ so much more, _ because I understand. Why he’d replace me and my mother, even if it does still make him a scumbag. You’re better.”

There’s silence beside him, for a while, and when Hongjoong looks over, the boy his father loves so much seems deep in thought, and his hand creeps closing to Hongjoong’s. Finally, the boy responds. “Hongjoong, I really don’t think that-”

“Don't say I don’t understand, I’ve heard that a million times, and I don’t wanna hear it again.”

There’s a weight on his hand now, and when he looks up, Seonghwa is shooting him an apologetic look. “That’s not what I was gonna say. I- I don’t think I’m better. I mean, especially to you. And I don’t- and I would never condone what your father did.”

“But?”

“No buts. I mean what I say. And I don’t want you to spend all summer dealing with that baggage.” the boy is holding his hand now, like a suitor would a maiden in waiting. Hongjoong could yank his hand away, he doesn’t think his dock buddy would mind, but the boy’s hands are warm and Hongjoong, for some fucking reason, takes to him so easily. 

“So, what do you suggest, hm? You seem smart, I’d like your input.”

And the boy shines a brilliant grin (that, in Hongjoong’s opinion, puts the sun to shame,) and he gets up, pulling his hand, and moving him to turn around. “Let me show you the better parts of this town. I can’t have you going home with a bad memory of here. It’d make me a bad local.”

Hongjoong, for the first time since he’s met this boy, that he really shouldn’t like because he is everything Hongjoong isn’t in his father’s eyes, gives a small smile, and moves to look at the boy. “Why should I,” he asks, “when I don’t even know your name?” 

“Touche,” the boy chuckles, and sits down right ahead of Hongjoong. “Well, my name is Seonghwa, and my favorite color is purple, and I have a few friends, all of them super gay, and I’d like to show you, Hongjoong, what a nice little beach city we are.” 

After that, Hongjoong is all too happy to let Seonghwa take him wherever he wants to go.

Hongjoong follows Seonghwa out to his car, it's not even parked in the driveway, despite the driveway being quite big enough. Hongjoong doesn't know why he takes such interest in it. His new friend is an interesting character, he supposes. The windows are down, Hongjoong doesn't intend on rolling them up. The silence in the car is a little awkward, only slightly settled when Seonghwa turns on the car and the radio blares to life. It effectively scares the shit out of him. He gives a playful glare to the man in the driver's seat that laughs just a tad too hard at him. 

"I'm sorry," Seonghwa gasps between his petulant giggles, "I'm a man of simple tastes, that was just funny!" 

"It was not!" The tourist is failing himself in his attempt to keep a straight face. He breaks, soon, with a small smile. 

The car ride is pretty silent, aside from the music. Hongjoong doesn't complain. It's nice enough just to be off his father's property, breathing in the air of the beach city. 

"Y'know," Seonghwa starts, "there's a pretty interesting history here. A lot of legends, as well." 

"Is that so?" 

"Yeah! Because of all the docks out that way-" Seonghwa points vaguely north, "-back in the day, we got a lot of sailors. I learned from my grandma that if back then, if a ship full of men docked, you could expect two things: a handful of stories, and a lot of pregnant women." 

Hongjoong pauses at the last part, now sporting a smile of pure disbelief. He shakes his head. "Sorry, run that by me again?" He requests. 

"If a ship full of men docked, my grandma expected a handful of stories and a bunch of pregnant women." It becomes obvious that Seonghwa is being very serious, and Hongjoong feels awful for laughing as hard as he does.

"Right," Hongjoong answers, to keep from cackling, "so, did your grandma ever tell you any of these legends?" 

"I'm so glad you asked, actually. One of her favorites was the story of the S.S. Aurora. It was a large fishing ship, and it was about two weeks from docking when a whale just  _ rammed  _ into it. The sailors tried to kill the whale, to take it with them to shore, but the whale was tough and intent on sinking the ship. They fought for forty days, maybe more, until the whale finally took the ship down. They say that at St. Mary’s beach, if you look closely at the horizon line during sunset, you can see the ghost of the ship, the crew, and the whale.”

“So, have you gone out to find out?” Hongjoong asks.

“I mean, I grew up here,” Seonghwa scoffs, “of course I have.” 

Hongjoong looks over at Seonghwa. Seonghwa doesn’t look back, but he’s wearing a small smile, as if he knows what Hongjoong’s about to ask. “Is it true? Have you ever seen the ghost ship?” 

“Well, why would I tell you whether or not it was true? That would ruin the surprise!”

“Good thing I hate surprises!” hongjoong bats at Seonghwa’s arm, he plays a petulant game. “C’mon, Seonghwa! You can’t leave me in suspense!” 

“You wouldn’t even be able to see it tonight! It's cloudy!” 

“So what? Is this just an excuse so you don't have to tell me the legend isn’t true?”

“I’m not! I’ll just have to bring you out on a night we can actually see the sun setting.”

“So a date?”

“Not a date!” Seonghwa shakes his head, in disappointment or defeat, Hongjoong’s not sure. It still gives the smaller a little bit of satisfaction. “Well, I mean- It’s not like, strictly a date, I guess. It doesn’t have to be, I know you’re new here.”

Hongjoong grins, taking a look out the window at the shore line. He’ll admit one thing, Seonghwa had the perfect idea, getting Hongjoong away from the property of Mr. Kim. the shore line is beautiful, and Joong can’t wait to explore it. He bets the town is just as pretty, if Seonghwa’s opinion is anything to go by. “I don’t mind a date,” Hongjoong answers, “where’d you even plan on taking me tonight?” 

“Oh, just an ice cream shop in town. I figure, y’know, since cloudy days don't give you much beach opportunity I could show you some of the in town stuff, so you could come visit town when you want.”

Hongjoong nods, quiet for a moment, and then he answers, “how very gentlemanly of you.”

Seonghwa brings Hongjoong along to an Ice cream shop. When that’s not enough to satisfy them both, Seonghwa walks him down main street, through the artsy shops and the boutiques, and a cute little deli on the corner that sells donuts, oddly enough. Then, Seonghwa takes him home and leaves him with the promise of tomorrow. 

Hongjoong lies in bed that night with excitement buzzing under his skin. Tomorrow. If the storm leaves as Hong hopes it will, then Seonghwa is gonna come pick him up again. They’ll watch the sunset in search of phantom ships as they eat ice cream and… what? Talk? Will it be awkward tomorrow? Are his worries that they won't have anything to talk about valid? Is that something he should even think about? 

He decides that no, he’s noy gonna think like that tonight. Panic is something he can deal with tomorrow. Tonight he can look through his rose tinted glasses.

~~~

The morning reaches Hongjoong too soon, and it leaves him Jittery as he goes about his day as if it’s supposed to be normal. He mills within his father’s house (it’s empty, Hongjoong has no idea where Mr. Kim has run off to- for the first time since the trip started, he doesn’t care,) and spends all the time he has to eat, and eat, and maybe eat a little more. He also decides on an outfit at about noon. He changes his decision at one-thirty. And then again at three. It's not like the outfit choice matters, of course, it’s just an insanely cute boy who decided to take him out because his father is a dick. No big deal, honestly. 

He’s able to settle on something before six, something that is admittedly way too bright and flashy, but it suits him, in his opinion. He even has thirty minutes to spare, that he promptly waists angsting over whether he should even go. (In the back of his mind he knows the answer is yes, absolutely, but he’ll cut himself some slack.) Seonghwa pulls up at around six-thirty, knowing they have time, but panicked anyhow. When Hongjoong sits down in the passenger seat, he looks way too sunny for how Seonghwa feels, and on some level it dissuades his fears. Still, Seonghwa apologizes.

“What are you apologizing for?” Hongjoong asks with a brilliant grin. 

“I’m just- I’m late!” it comes out of Seonghwa like he’s heaving a breath. “And I am, I’m really sorry. It’s just that I lost my keys, and then duke kensington wouldn’t go in his kennel, he’s the feistiest little chihuahua you’ll ever meet. It was a mess, and I’m so, so sorry.” Seonghwa, for the first time in the (admittedly short) entirety of their slightly unsteady relationship, won’t look Hongjoong in the eye. Instead, he busies himself with the drive. To ease the tension, or end this short friendship, Hongjoong reaches over to hold Seonghwa’s hand, the one that isn’t on the steering wheel. Maybe this is slightly quick, but they have three months. Seonghwa doesn’t seem to mind, relaxing against the seat. 

The drive is relatively quiet, but a comfortable one, aided by the music and the feeling of each other. St. Mary’s beach is on the opposite side of town, so it's about a fifteen minute drive. They talk about stopping for ice cream again, but it goes nowhere, so they just proceed to the beach. By then the sun is beginning to settle on the horizon. 

Hongjoong wanders across the very edge of the tide. He feels like he could get lost in it. He’s always thought that beaches are beaches. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. It's all sand and water and waves. He really didn’t think any different when he came to visit his dad. It's been a rather gloomy, storm-cloud filled week, and it hasn’t made the water look all too exciting. This, though. This is something gorgeous. It feels different, maybe because of the clear sky, the idea of a ghost ship, or the boy following him. The sun hits the water and  _ this _ , Hongjoong thinks,  _ must be the golden hour _ . Hongjoong knows of the golden hour, he knows that it happens everywhere, but he never really had reason to care. 

Now, he looks back at the man behind him, how he’s bathed in a golden light, and… it’s such a sight. 

He’s also carrying two sticks.

“Here!” Seonghwa holds one of the two sticks out to Hongjoong. “let’s sword fight.” 

“Why would we sword fight?”

“I dunno, to lure the ghost ship out!” He reasons. 

Hongjoong laughs. “Isn’t that a little ridiculous?” 

“Maybe,” the sword holder answers, “but maybe if you close your eyes and pretend that you and I are really rival pirates, then it won’t be.”

“And let  _ you _ get the upper hand?” Hongjoong scoffs, finally stepping back and wielding it like a sword. It’s very crude sword handling at best, based only on movies Hongjoong has seen, but it isn’t like Seonghwa is any better.

“That’s the spirit!” With that, Seonghwa surges forward, like he really intends to fight to the death. Hongjoong fights back, he tries his best to keep the same composure, to act like he isn’t having the time of his life. He fails, ultimately, grinning as he dodges and blocks “strikes” from their make-shift swords. It inevitably devolves. The two find themselves on the ground, next to each other. Hongjoong’s breathing is heavy, Seonghwa’s is slightly better. While Seonghwa tips his head back at the darkening sky, Hongjoong watches the horizon intently as the sun is overtaken by the water. 

When the sun finally disappears on the horizon, it's all quiet. The sound of the waves washing up against the shore and hitting the dock nearby are all either care to hear.

“There was no ship,” Hongjoong mumbles, breaking the silence, “I am beyond disappointed.” the statement is accompanied by a tired, but amused, huff. 

“It was a surprise, wasn’t it?” 

“Not a very fun one.”

“Sword fight harder next time.”

Hongjoong nods, petulantly, silently promising there will be a next time. The world is quiet, and when he lays back to find Seonghwa’s arm below him, he remembers the world is also soft. Hwa doesn’t move his arm. Hongjoong lifts his head to give him the chance to, but he doesn’t. Hongjoong decides he’ll push just a bit, and he rolls, slightly, into Seonghwa’s side. He whispers,“This was fun.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Hongjoong.” Seonghwa plays with the fabric on Hongjoong’s shoulder. If Joong didn’t know any better, he’d say they were acting something like lovers. 

“Can we do it again?” 

“Yeah,” Seonghwa nods, resolution written on his face, “any time you want. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, all summer.”

“I still can’t believe you consider March Summer.’

“It’s summer enough!” 

Hongjoong finds himself giggling for the umteenth time that night, soft, warm. 

Hongjoong is, despite their first meeting, so warm. Physically, yes, but towards seonghwa, he is  _ warm _ in his actions. Seonghwa finds it endearing. He likes the friendliness in this boy that matches his own so well. He wonders if Joong is just as bold. “Can I kiss you, Hongjoong?”

The other seems stunned for a minute. His face lights up with a thousand emotions that Seonghwa can’t really decipher. Then, minutely, he nods. 

Their lips meet for only a few moments, softly. Seonghwa leans on his side to cup Hongjoong’s cheek in his hand as they kiss. It's chaste and short, but it’s a first, Hongjoong’s lips feel amazing, and he can’t wait for more. 

If the look on his partner’s face is anything to go by, more isn’t too far off.


End file.
